The Swan Princess 4: The Swan Princess and the White Lion
by Lion3
Summary: 1 year after Zelda is defeated, a Circus comes to the kingdom. In the midst of the fun, Odette, Derek, and the rest of the gang discovers the Circus' star, a white lion cub named Elysa, is actually a human child under the same spell Odette was! Who is this lion? What secrets will she share? Will she bring new love to Derek and Odette's lives? And will she ever be human again?
1. Chapter 1

Hi Everyone! It's Lion3 here! Anyway this is my first fan fiction so go easy on me. Joining me here are two of the stars of my story: Odette and Derek!  
Odette/Derek: Nice to meet you  
Lion3: pleasures all mine. I loved you guys growing up! Anyways, in this story, like the summary said, Odette and Derek meet a talking lion under the power of the forbidden arts  
Odette: So we will meet someone I can relate with?  
Lion3: Yep, that's actually a focus of the story  
Derek: Please tell me I don't have to fight a great animal again.  
Lion3: maybe, but probably not in the way you think.  
Derek: ?  
Odette:*giggles*  
Lion3: read, comment, and review!  
Odette: Remember, Lion3 does not own the Swan Princess, or us. Just this story.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: The circus **Chapter Text**

Prologue  
The twisted, wild, and dangerous streets seemed to close in on a 6 year old girl running for her life. She didn't understand why she was in so much trouble. It had only been a few coins she had stolen, nothing of importance. 'Now I've done it.' she thought as terror clamped around her neck. Suddenly, she found herself at a dead end. She turn to see a man around the age of 50 closing in on her. "You know," he said. She could her the malevolence in his voice. "Thieves deserve to be punished." She knew it was over. The guards would be there any minute to take her away. "But where's the fun of punishing someone if you don't do it yourself?" He raised his hand up, a glowing orb of light shone on his palm. He began to chant strange words. Without warning, a white flare of pain shot into the back of the child, throwing her to the ground. She cried for help that would never come. Her bones twisted and shifted as darkness took her over. The last thing that could be seen was her cobalt eyes shutting.

Ch 1 The Circus  
Odette woke up in shock. She had had that same dream for 2 weeks. No one knew why or could explain it, but Odette knew it meant something. She couldn't help but wonder who the man and the cobalt-eyed child was. Putting those thoughts aside, the princess turn to kiss her husband awake, as she did every morning only to find him missing. "Strange," she said to herself. "Derek never is up before me." The Swan Princess rose out of bed and got ready for the day. As she left the room to search for her prince, her wrist was clamped on by another hand, spinning Odette around to face Derek himself. Before she could let out a single word of protest, Derek's lip were on hers, successfully banishing any anger in his wife's mind. "Good morning, dearest," he chanted in a smooth tone. Playfully, she slapped him on the chest. "Don't scare me like that!" She reprimanded, not fooling him for a second though. He knew she was only joking. He gave her an apologetic look that usually worked. Taking her arm in his, he asked "Breakfast?" "That would be nice," she replied.

As the 2 lovers finished their breakfast, Derek's childhood friend, Bromely, and the royal conceller, Lord Rogers, entered, bickering as usual. "I think it would be nice for them to go!" Brom growled at the older man. "Just to get out of the castle for a day!" Rogers roared back, "There is simply too much work to be done! You may go alone, but Odette and Derek must stay!" Before the two could continue, Odette, who usually played peacemaker between them, asked, "What is it you two?" Brom promptly replied, "The Circus has come to the village and I thought it would be nice if we all went. Just for one day!" Derek agreed with his friend. It had been a long and hard month filled with work. What was worse was that he didn't get to spend much time with Odette Rogers shattered his thoughts by saying, "There is still too much work! I'm not denying the fact a day off would be nice, but the kingdom must come first!" To Derek's surprise, it was Odette who said, "Oh come now Rogers, I think one day to ourselves would hurt anyone." Rogers tried to protest, but everyone knew that, as she always was, Odette was right. Bitterly, Rogers surrendered and prepared the carriage for the 4 of them. "Oh well," Rogers thought. "One day at the Circus won't change our lives." Little did he know how wrong he was.

Circ Marloo seemed like any normal circus. There were games, prizes, and shows all around. Derek greatly enjoyed spending time with Odette. He quickly won a prize for her at every booth. After he won an archery competition (no surprise there), the couple were approached by a red hair man with a small goatee. Bowing he said, "Your Majesties, what an honor it is to have you at my humble Circus. Permit me to introduce myself, I am Mr. Marloo, the owner and ringmaster." Derek shook Marloo's hand and introduced themselves. Odette however remained silent. His voice was very familiar in a way. Where had she heard it before? "I hope you can join us for our animal performances, it's the best and my personal favorite part of our circus," the man said with a grin on his face. Derek, being a hunter, was always interested in animals, so he happily said they'd be there. Marloo departed, leaving Odette unsteady

The 2 monarchs were escorted to a private section for the show. Odette and Derek were delighted to see the performing animals. There were a variety of animals such as balancing elephants, galloping horses, and even a juggling hyena. However, Odette couldn't help but sense a certain sadness in the animals. Finally, Marloo stepped into the center of the ring. "And now!" He announced in a loud voice." Ladies and gentlemen! For our final performance of the evening, Circ Marloo would like to introduce the star of our Circus!" Drums suddenly began playing, growing louder with each second. "From the deepest part of the Arabic jungle, the rarest of all animals. The Queen of Beast! We asked you to remain calm as we introduce: The White Lion, Elysa!" A small roar broke out and from the darkness of a cage, a small white lion cub leaped 20 feet ahead. It let out another roar, both delighting and shocking the crowd. Derek and Brom stared spellbound. "I've never heard of a lion whose pelt was white! Have you Derek?" Bromely asked. "Never!" Was all the prince could reply. Odette to was shock, but not by the color of the lioness's pelt. All Odette could look at were the big cobalt eyes of the cub staring at her. It was the exact color of the eyes of the child in her dream. A sudden crack broke the silence. "Ladies and gentlemen! Do not fear! The beast will not harm you. She is the mighty beast of the far east. A legend among the Persian people! She is also the wisest and most intelligent of the animals! Watch!" Slowly the trainers asked the lion, "Elysa! What's 4 times 2?" the lion raised her paw.  
Bump,  
Bump  
Bump  
Bump  
Bump  
Bump  
Bump  
Bump  
Eight times. The crowd cheered at the animal's intelligence. "She is also the fastest of any of our own! Bring out the wild dogs!" the trainer cracked a whip and chased the cub into what look like a racing track. Several different types of dogs, all caged, were brought to the same track. Both the prince and his wife were mortified. Odette whispered into Derek's ear, "They wouldn't…" a siren went of as the dogs took off after the white cat. Elysa, however easily outran the dogs, who were eventually rounded up. The trainer then return to chase Elysa to a small arena. "Finally! Watch as the Queen braves the field of fire and emerges unscratch!" the field below the platform Elysa was standing on caught on fire. Women screamed, children cried, and men gasped. Odette felt her heart break for the cub. Elysa went on with her performance. The cub jumped 10 feet into the air and bit a metal ring hanging above the center of the field. Oos and ahhs could be heard from the crowd. Expertly, the cub swung back and forth until launching herself on a ball on the other side. Next, she rolled the ball carefully down a small slide and through the rest of the flames. Finally, she backflipped off the ball, landed perfectly on a star stand, and let out a roar. The crowd cheered and threw roses at the paws of the lion. With a crack of the whip, the lion raced back to her cage. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen! We hope you enjoyed the show, now it's time for us to go!" (Kirby reference!) Derek, Odette, and others stood up, not knowing what to feel. Quickly, Marloo arrived in the section of the royals. "I hope you enjoyed our show!" Brom jumped up, " It was amazing!" Even Rogers let out a bark of excitement. "I must agree with Bromely, it was impressive! How did you ever train that lion to perform those tricks?" He gave a smirk. "Elysa is a highly intelligent creature. She knows what we want and how to do it." Odette felt disturbed by Marloo's description of Elysa. "You know, I don't usually do this, but why don't your Majesties take a closer look at the animals?" Before anyone could object, Odette said, "We'd love to!"

Odette allowed her hand to glide over the hide of a zebra as everyone else looked at the animals. "All these animals are simply beautiful!" her husband exclaimed. However, there was one animal in particular his princess was looking for. A flash of white quickly cuaght Odette's eye as she hurried to the back of the room. In a small cage was Elysa. The small animal noticed her visitor and looked at her with sad eyes. Odette felt pity enter her heart. "You poor thing. You don't like it here, do you?" The animal shook her head lightly, confirming Odette's suspicion of the animal being able to understand her. She suddenly felt soft fur against her hand. She was shock to see she had put her hand through the cage and cat was know nudging her, purring softly. "Odette!" Derek bolted and jerked his wife away from the cage. "What are you thinking! It's a wild animal!" Odette nuzzled against her husband. "She doesn't mean any harm, Derek. She doesn't like it here. Besides, the nudging sort of tickled!" They both let out a laugh. "Let's go," he said. "we can bring Puffin, Whizzer, Speed, and Jean Bob tomorrow to meet your new friend!" Just as the group was about to leave, as small child-like voice called out to them. "Please, don't go," The two stop dead in their tracks. "Brom, did you say something?" Derek asked. Brom shook his head. Again the voice pleaded with them. "He didn't say something, I did!" Odette knew exactly where the voice was coming from. She turned around to only have her suspicion confirmed. "Please, you must help me! He has us under a spell! Help me escape, kind rulers!" Those were the pleading words of the lion cub. Elysa was talking.

Notes: Lion3: so you 2, what do you think?  
Odette: Looks like we're in for a world of trouble  
Lion3: Right you are!  
Elysa?: can someone please get me out of the cage!?  
Lion3: Oh be patient!  
Derek: Oh leave her alone!  
Elysa?: thank you, Derek  
Lion3: We're in for some major plot twists next time! See ya around!  
Read, Comment, Review!


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2: Councle of Animals

Odette just stared at the lion. There was only one possible magic that could change this poor creature from a girl to a lion: the forbidden arts. But how could it be? Odette and Derek had made certain that all things of or related to the forbidden arts had been destroyed. Elysa stretched her paw between the bars, her cobalt eyes boring into Odette's violet ones. "Please help me! They treat us terribly here. I've been whipped, burned and beaten! Please set me free!" Odette could feel her heart shatter. She knew what it was like to be a prisoner of the forbidden arts. Without hesitation, she ran to the cage and tried desperately to unlock it. "Odette?" Derek asked. "What are you…" he never finished. The sympathy filled look in her eyes said everything. "I won't leave her, Derek." Unsheathing his sword, Derek raised it above the lock. Suddenly, a voice barked at them, "Why free the runt? Free me instead!" Derek turned to find the hyena who had juggled talking as well. One of the elephant's trunk bashed the hyena's head. "Shut your muzzle, George!" The elephant screamed. "She's only 8 and your an old dog. She has too much life to live for it to be wasted here!" Suddenly, all the animals were bickering and fighting. Brom whispered to Rogers, So that's what she meant by 'us'." A loud howl pierced the noise and all eyes, human and animal alike, turned to a midnight black wolf who appeared to be the leader. He spoke with a tone that dared any to challenge his authority. "George, I must agree with Molly. The child is the youngest, therefore she must escape before anyone else." George grumbled, while the others murmured in agreement. The wolf turned to Derek. "Get her out of here." Derek nodded, raised his sword, and shattered the lock. The cub bolted out of the cage the moment the door was opened. Brushing cat like against the couple, she chanted, " Oh, Thank you!Thank you!Thank you!" Odette smiled. Ever so gently, she picked up the cub and held her close. "Well, aren't you a sweetheart!" The cub blushed at this. Running her fingers through the child's fur, Odette brought a smile to her face. "My name's Elisa," the lioness purred, obviously enjoying the strokes and attention of the princess. "Thank you for saving me, Princess Odette and Prince Derek!" "How do you know us?" Derek asked. "Every animal knows the story of the Swan Princess and her prince!" Hearing footsteps, Odette turned to her husband and said, "We need to leave now!" Rogers gave her a questionable look. "Odette," he said. How are we going to sneak a white lion out of here?" Derek snapped his fingers. "I know!" Derek quickly picked up Odette's satchel. The prince then proceed to place the cub inside and closed the top. The group hurried of to the carriage with their stowaway.

As soon as the circus was out of sight, the princess released the cub from the bag. Taking a deep breath, Elisa began jumping around with joy. "It's been so long since I've been outside!" Derek gave her a worried look. "Elisa, how long have you been like this." She lowered her head. "2 years." Odette gasped in shock. Elisa had been 6 when this started? Much too young for someone to come into contact with that kind of evil. She placed Elisa on her lap and began scratching behind her ears. The girl obviously enjoyed this. "I know you two can free me from the forbidden arts." Odette asked, "how do you about the forbidden arts?" She looked up at Odette. "Because Mr. Marloo is Rothbart's brother."


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3: Elisa's Story

For most of the carriage ride back, no one spoke. The thought of Rothbart having a brother silenced everyone. Elisa lay comfortably in Odette's lap, sleeping. Judging on how quickly she managed to fall asleep, Odette could tell Elisa hadn't had a peaceful slumber for quite some time. Derek moved closer to his wife and began stroking the cub's fur. "I guess being in a cage," he said. "You can't really get a goodnight's rest." Odette smiled and snuggled up against Derek. Suddenly, she thought of something. "Derek, do you think that moonlight on the lake can change Elisa back?" The prince pondered this for a moment and said, "It did work for you, so I guess it could possibly work on Elisa to. Nearing the castle, the group heard 4 familiar voices. "Ahoy, your highnesses!" Their Scottish bird friend, Puffin called out. Behind him, the yacky bird, Whizzer, dove and landed next to the prince. "Hope you had a nice time!" He said. "So do I." A slow voice said. Speed, the turtle, laid out on a rock with the frog, Jean Bob, on his back. Jean Bob only said, "Sorry I couldn't come but zees sort of z'ings are not my style." Speed calmly climbed into the carriage and Puffin landed next to Whizzer. "So," the Scottish bird said, " how was the circus?" Before either could answer, Jean Bob screamed and jumped to other end of the carriage, apparently being the first of them to notice Elisa in Odette's lap. He pointed at the sleeping bundle of white fur and asked, "Odette! Derek! What is z'at z'ing!?" Puffin looked at the small cat more closely. "Well I'll be!" He said, "It's a lion!" Whizzer at mention of the word lion curiously walked up to her. "Not just a lion," he said. "A white lion," Speed finished. The 4 animals looked up at the couple. "Why do ya two have a lion?" Puffin asked. Derek only said, "Watch." Odette gently shook Elisa awake. The cub gave a yawn and looked at her with sleepy eyes. "Elisa," she said. "Meet some friends of ours. These are Puffin, Whizzer, Speed, and Jean Bob. Say hello." Jean bob quickly remarked, " Oh please Odette, it'z only a white ball of fluff. It can't understand you or us." Growling, Elisa jumped from Odette's lap and said to the frog, "Actually, I CAN understand you. So do watch your manners!" The 4 allowed their jaws to drop, while Jean Bob, afraid of the lion's wrath, jumped behind Derek. Whizzer quickly asked, "Care to explain?" The couple told them all the events that had taken place during the circus, and how they met Elisa. "Wow," Speed said, " Now somebody else needs the spell to be broken." Even Jean Bob, who realized Elisa meant him no harm said, " Diz'graceful! Cursing a child. Too low even for a brother of Rothbart!" Derek then said, " We were thinking that moonlight on the lake would turn her back, for moment if anything." Elisa shot up. "You could turn me back!?" Odette nodded. Puffin explained, " Ya see, when Odette was under the spell, every time she went out on the lake and let moonlight touch 'er, she'd transform back to a princess, but only till the moon left the lake." Elisa drooped her head. "So if it works, at sunrise, I'll turn back into a lion." She smiled again. "That doesn't matter. I haven't been human in 2 years! All settle for a couple of hours!"

After the group return, Odette, Derek, and the animals waked to the lake shore. Odette looked at the cat. "Your… not afraid of water, are you?" Elisa rolled on the ground in laughter. " You saw me roll a metal ball into a field of fire, and you ask me if I'm afraid of water?" Odette to began to laugh. The cub walked onto the lake. Moonlight bathed the cub's already shiny fur. Suddenly, a familiar gold light encircled the child for a moment. Then standing in place on a lion was an 8 year old girl. Odette gasped. Elisa had been the child in her dreams! She was not very tall, due to her age only reaching Odette's chest. She had jet black hair, ironically, milky skin, and her same cobalt eyes. She was indeed an adorable child. As she tried to take a step, she slipped nearly falling into the water had it not been for Derek's arms catching the child. She blushed. " I guess I need to get use to walking on two legs again."

Odette and Derek found a room for Elisa next to their own. Later in the evening, the couple and their friends gathered in the room to listen to the child's story. Odette had given Elisa an old dress of hers due to Elisa clothes no longer fitting her. Sitting on the bed, Derek asked, " If it doesn't bother you Elisa, how did you end up in that circus?" "I was 6 and living in Persia. Having no money or food, I had no choice but to steal some coins." Tears began to form. "I was just so hungry, I didn't think a few missing coins would hurt. Of course with my rotten luck, I stole from Marloo, who chased me all around the city. When he finally cornered me, he spoke some words and I felt a white flair of pain in my back. I blacked out. When I came to, I was in a cage and a lion. I've been stuck like until now." Finishing her story, Elisa felt Odette's hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Elisa!" Puffin said,"We'll brake the spell and get ya back to your family!" These final words finally pushed Elisa to her braking point as she bursted into tears. The others stood in shock while Puffin wondered what he had said. "That very sweet of you, Puffin," the child said in between sobs. "But I don't have a family to go back to. My parents died in a fire when I was 4." Odette felt her maternal instincts act up as she softly pulled Elisa to her, rocking her back and forth, saying soothing words to calm her. She couldn't explain why she was so protective of Elisa, she just felt as though she was meant to comfort and protect the child, just as Derek had done for her. Derek also joined in trying to calm Elisa. Eventually, she did stop crying, and laid her head on Odette's shoulder. "Don't worry Elisa," Derek said. "We will break the spell and find you a home." She smiled at the prince. Odette kissed the child's forehead. "Dawn is near. Get some rest." With a yawn, Elisa placed her head on the pillow and fell asleep. The couple did not leave until sleepiness overtook them.


End file.
